Ferns N Petals posts Rs 607 Cr revenue in FY23; bleeds heavily

Gifting platform Ferns N Petals grew at a brisk pace in the past few fiscals but the company’s growth plateaued in FY23. The Delhi-based firm posted only a 4.8% increase in its income in the last fiscal year while it slipped into heavy losses nearing Rs 110 crore in FY23.

Their revenue from operations increased to Rs 607 crore in FY23 from Rs 579 crore in FY22, the company’s consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies show.

The group makes money from selling cakes, flowers, and customized gifting solutions which collectively constituted 92% of its total operating revenue. These goods are sold through the firm’s own websites, third-party e-commerce platforms and physical stores. The company currently operates more than 400 franchise outlets in 125 cities across India. 

The rest of the income comes from delivery, convenience, packing, and forwarding charges from the customers.

Ferns N Petals also runs hospitality and wedding businesses through Udman Hotels and FNP Weddings and Events. While the holding entity didn’t provide their financial numbers in its consolidated results, the two units are operated by FNP Weddings and Events Pvt Ltd which posted Rs 70.76 crore topline and Rs 4.43 profit in FY23.

Last week, the company announced that it is looking at expanding its hospitality play with 50 new hotels.

India is the largest market for Ferns N Petals generating 67% of its revenue followed by UAE and Singapore which contributed 22% and 8% respectively. See TheKredible for the detailed revenue breakup.

For the gifting solutions platform, the cost of procurement of materials was the largest cost center accounting for 38% of the total expenditure. This cost increased only 2.2% to Rs 278 crore in FY23 from Rs 272 crore in FY22 while its employee benefits grew 13% to Rs 121 crore in FY23. 

The firm’s advertising and marketing, legal professional, freight, and information technology took the total expenditure up by 25% to Rs 723 crore in FY23 from Rs 578 crore in FY22. Head to TheKredible for the detailed expense breakup.

Expense Breakdown

FY22

Total ₹ 578 Cr

FY23

Total ₹ 723 Cr

• Cost of materials

• Employee benefits

• Legal professional

• Others

To check complete Expense Breakdown visit thekredible.comView full data

The flat revenue and 25% surge in the total cost pushed the company into losses. Ferns N Petals posted Rs 109 crore loss in FY23 as compared to Rs 10 crore profit in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin worsened to -81.2% and -14.9% respectively. On a unit level, Ferns N Petals spent Rs 1.19 to earn a rupee in FY23.

FY22-FY23

	FY22	FY23
EBITDA Margin	2%	-14.9%
Expense/Rupee of ops revenue	₹1	₹1.19
ROCE	6%	-81.2%

Ferns N Petals had a total current assets of Rs 62.75 crore which includes cash and bank balances of Rs 20 crore until March 2023.

Last month, Ferns N Petals announced that it is venturing into the food and beverage industry by launching The U Kitchen to offer European, Asian, Korean, Japanese, Continental, French, Indian street food, and various regional Indian dishes.

From its humble start as a florist on demand essentially, Ferns and Petals has surprised many with its many expansions. Some like the move into cakes seemed to make sense, but lately, not really. Worse, the firm has been losing its edge as the standout leader in a category, seemingly happy to seek chunks of what it considers faster growing segments. A victim of the ‘growth imperative’, Ferns and Petals, much like its carefully made bouquets at one time, will need to pick its fresh ventures with a far more discerning eye, one feels.